Equipment Build – Solar Wax Melter (Broke Boy SWM)

Broke Boy Solar Wax Melter – BBSWM

This solar wax melter is one that was cobbled together in the time-frame of about 2012.   I call it the “Broke Boy Solar Wax Melter”.

Commercially sold solar wax melters for the hobby market – are currently (2024) marketed at prices ranging from $170-$350.   For something that is essentially a box with a clear(ish) lid, and a tray.   There are various ways the wax is melted, filtered, and put into a container – depending on how much money you want to spend.

My goal in building this melter – was to see how affordably I could build it, and it be effective.    After all – we beekeepers are notorious for being… uh… “Frugal”.

Use what you have… maybe source things from garage sales.. or from thrift stores.

I bought a fairly large (45 Quart) styrofoam cooler from a retailer..   And a thick piece of plexiglass from a big-box home improvement store.

A box-cutter blade was used to cut the styrofoam to the size that allowed the plexiglass to fit on top – then foil tape was used to affix the “window” to the lid.

Pots and a vegetable steamer cage – sourced from thrift stores are used for wax melting.   I line the steamer cage with paper towels, then fill it with the cleaned and dried wax cappings from extracting honey.   The steamer cage is then set into a larger pot to catch the filtered wax.

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